Help and Encouragement
by XoxMountainGirlxoX
Summary: Meredith gets overwhelmed and Alex is there to help. My take on what should have happened at the end of 7x22. This is non-canon. Mer/Alex friendship.


**A/N: **Alright, this is my first Grey's fic! Woo hoo! So, After seeing Meredith's face when she looked into Alex's empty room, I got this idea and had to write it. I will repeat, this is non-canon. I know that in season 8 Meredith acts cold toward Alex and I want to make sure that people know that this story isn't in that storyline. This is my version of what I think should have happened. Now...maybe after this they could have had another spat, I'll leave it up to you to decide, just like Shonda makes us wonder what happened during time jumps (which brings these amazing fanfictions.)

This hasn't been beta read for grammar yet, my regular beta doesn't have internet at the moment, but conn8d was a blessing and read through to see if the characters where written right. I seriously suggest reading conn8d's Grey's fics, they are awesome! Especially the Alex/April series.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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"_I want your crap out of my house by the end of the day." _

She didn't know how much she would regret those words until now as she tried to calm down a screaming baby who wouldn't respond to anything. At the moment she was rocking the child side to side as she patted the little girl on the back and ran her hand over the curly, black hair. The little thing wouldn't quiet down and she was alone, very alone.

"_Okay, we're gonna be okay. You and I, we're a team, right? We're tough."_

She mentally berated herself for thinking she could handle this. She had thought she would have help, if not Derek then her friends, but even Cristina had run. She couldn't blame Cristina though, she was having her own baby problems and didn't want to have any part in what Meredith was going through right then. She had stayed for a half hour before the crying was too much and she had told Meredith that she was just going to go find a hotel to crash at.

She sighed as she knew that she needed to do something. She should have told the lady that she couldn't take Zola at the moment, told her what was going on and that a baby would be too much. She had had the thought of going back to the hospital and doing just that, but with every cry she was growing more and more attached; but also more and more frustrated and exhausted.

She had worked a twenty-eight hour shift before the whole thing with the clinical trial went down, after that she had been at the hospital an additional eight hours for meetings; after which she found herself fired. Before her shift she hadn't slept good, the whole thing with Alex knowing made her restless. She had nightmares, ones that actually came true. She was still processing what had happened hours before and a crying baby wasn't helping.

She sighed again as the screams only got louder and her exhaustion level rose. She took a deep breath before picking up the phone and dialing a number that she thought she would never use again after today. As the rings continued her emotions started to get out of control from her frustrations. She was almost about to hang up and give up on her last chance of help when the sound of the phone being answered met her ears and tears came to her eyes as she heard the voice that could save her from the craziness she was in at the moment.

"_Hello?"_

"Can you come and help me?" Her voice cracked as she straight out and asked without a greeting.

* * *

Alex couldn't believe what he was doing. She kicked him out! Why would he want to go back and help her? But here he was, headed back to the place he had called home up until eight hours ago. He still was shocked that she had called him. He thought she hated his guts, didn't want him around except for at work and even there she didn't acknowledge him unless they were on the same case.

He thought about the phone call and all that had been said. He was the last person she had thought of to call. It hurt to know that, but he understood. She, at this point in time, would want anyone but him.

"_Hello?" He answered a bit harshly. He had debated not answering, but also wondered why she was calling._

"_Can you come and help me?" Her tired and frustrated voice came across the line along with screaming in the background. He pulled the phone away from his ear a bit. He grew concerned about what was going on._

"_Why? You kicked me out!" He responded, his voice still harsh. Just because he was concerned didn't mean he was happy to hear from her. He heard her sniffle and the annoyance he had been feeling melted away._

"_Mer, what is going on? Why do you need me to come back and what is with all that screaming?" He softened his tone after hearing her struggle to maintain composure. _

"_The screaming is Zola. They decided to let us take her. She won't stop screaming and I've done everything!" Meredith explained._

"_Where is Derek?" He asked, He started the car and put the phone on speaker, putting it on the dashboard as he pulled out of the parking lot he had stopped at._

"_I-I don't know. I've tried calling him but he doesn't answer. I-I thought he had come home." She said and his heart fell. He wondered what would have happened if he had kept his drunken big mouth shut. _

_Mer would have had her job and her husband would have been there for her. He also would still have a place to live as well and this call wouldn't have happened, or at least it wouldn't have been as awkward. He couldn't believe how much damage could happen in just a few hours. _

_The guilt rose as he thought of all the ifs. Yes, Mer started it by doing what she did, but she knew what she was doing. It was him who told on her. He now understood why parents told their kids not to tattle. It does nothing for anyone; the person told on gets into trouble and the person who told feels awful, unless they are cold and heartless. _

_He shouldn't have gone and gotten drunk that night, he should have waited until his feelings about the whole situation died down. That was the reason why he blurted it out, it was fresh and being drunk you tell what is one your mind. He wished he had never seen Meredith with those papers. _

"_Where is everyone else? Where's Cristina?" He wondered. Cristina was her person, she should be the one helping._

"_Cristina was here, but she left a while ago. She and Owen are...having problems and she needed a place to stay, but couldn't take the crying. She stayed for half an hour and then went to find a hotel. Everyone else is still at work." She explained, but he could tell there was more to the story about Cristina. _

"_Have you tried Mark? Maybe he knows where Derek is." He supplied._

"_No, he's in surgery. And before you ask, so are Callie and Arizona." She answered._

"_I'm on my way. Give me ten minutes." He said with a sigh as he turned a corner._

"_Thanks Alex." She stated and the call was ended._

He had been sitting in his car for a few minutes when the door opened up and he saw her walk towards him. He took in her haggered look, tear tracks on her cheeks and tired, sad looking eyes. She walked slowly and her shoulders sagged. He knew that she was back to her dark and twisty self and he knew that that wasn't good, especially for the baby. He climbed out of the car and they just stood there for a moment, looking at each other.

"Where's the kid?" He asked, noticing the absence of a body.

"She's inside. She calmed down a bit, but still won't go to sleep." Mer said, raising a hand that held a baby monitor. He sighed.

"Come on, I didn't come to just stand outside yakking." He said and started for the door. He could hear whimpering coming from the living room and looked at Meredith.

"It was easier to set everything up down here. I had her up stairs at first, but then when she started crying non-stop I decided to move it down so I didn't have to go up and down the stairs. She goes back and forth from screaming to this." She explained. She watched as Alex went over to the port-a-crib and leaned over to pick the little girl up.

"Hey Zola, what's going on?" He asked in a soft voice as he looked at her. She had quit whimpering and was looking at him curiously.

"Hey Mer, have you checked her temp? She feels a bit warm." He inquired.

"No, I haven't. I just thought she was warm from working herself up." She replied.

"Did they give you a thermometer?" He asked. He wasn't shocked that she hadn't thought of it. Yeah, Meredith is a doctor and should know to take a temp when you think there is a fever, but this was all new to her. People forget things when they freak out, like he knew her to be at the moment.

"Yeah, I think so." Her mumbled reply confirmed that she wasn't thinking right. As he watched her go through the bag on the ground, it brought back memories of Yang telling him what had happened in the OR during the shooting.

A few years ago a man, who's wife had died, had come back to the hospital with a gun. Derek, Lexie and Webber had been on his wife's case and were the ones who gave the call to pull the plug. The husband was distraught and blamed them for her death, saying they killed her too soon. He had shot Derek in chest and also shot Alex before that.

Cristina and Jackson had taken Derek to an OR and while in his chest, the gunman had come and threated to shoot her if she continued to try and save Derek. Both Owen and Mer had entered the OR and tried to talk him down, Mer going as far as telling the gunman to shoot her. While they were talking Jackson had unplugged Derek to make it look like he was dead, during that time the gunman had shot Owen. When the line went flat, Meredith lost it and the gunman left. Jackson hooked Derek back up and the heart beat on the monitor came back. Cristina forced Meredith to help Owen so she could finish helping Derek. During examining Owen, Meredith had a miscarriage.

He could see that she thought of Zola as family now because her thoughts only got scrambled when it was family or friends who were in trouble. She acted the same way when she learned he got shot and also when she learned that the man who got hit by the bus was George, who later died from his injuries.

His thoughts were shattered when Meredith forced an unopened box into his hand. It was an unused thermometer.

"They gave me a bunch of things, including the port-a-crib. Apparently when a baby doesn't survive the parents leave everything at the hospital." Mer explained after seeing the look on Alex's face. She could tell that he was wondering how she got everything so fast and knew what to look for. She watched as he sat down and opened the box while also still holding Zola.

She smiled lightly, he was really becoming a good Peds doctor. Even though he fought the pull towards the department, she knew that he felt a connection with the kids and was in for the long haul. She had always wondered what would have happened if he and Izzie had stayed together. She also wondered what Izzie had done with the fertilized embryo's they had stored before she started cancer treatment.

"Alright, looks like Miss Zola has a slight fever." Alex concluded after looking at the result. He gave her a tickle, trying to get her to smile. When that didn't happen he went to playfully poke her nose, only for her to grab his finger and put it in her mouth and started gnawing. He sighed as he figured out the problem.

"So, what is the problem?" Meredith pushed, getting anxious to know what was wrong.

"Well, she has a fever, is fussy. I believe that, plus what she is doing now, gives the simple signs of teething." Alex said, looking at the baby the whole time.

"Teething?" Meredith asked.

"Yes, teething. Teething is when..."Alex's sarcastic remark was cut off.

"I know what teething is." Meredith said and smacked him on his arm.

"Did they give you anything teething rings? The kind you put in freezer is the best." Alex inquired.

"I think so. They are keys right?" Mer asked while looking in the bag.

"They come in all shapes." Alex answered.

"Here." She said, bringing out a few items.

"Alright, we need to get this one into the freezer and these can be used immediately." He said, pointing to the gel filled ring and picking up the ever popular plastic keys and dangling them in front of Zola.

The little girl immediately grabbed them and put them in her mouth. A giggle came right after and a small sigh. Alex smiled down at the baby. He sighed as a longing filled him and memories of Izzie and the future he had planned for them came back.

"You ok?" Meredith's voice pulled him back to the present.

"Yeah, just thinking. You okay?" Alex asked while putting Zola in her crib.

"I'm fine." She simply stated. He sighed as he leaned against the crib and watched her. He didn't like the far away look in her eyes.

"Mer, I know that means the opposite. What is wrong?" He pushed.

"I'm still wondering about Derek." Her voice had this faraway tone to it. He could tell she was thinking about something, probably all the places Derek might be.

"He'll come around. Right now he is pissed, but he loves you. Just give him time." Alex advised, not knowing if that would help or not. He wasn't the best at giving or taking relationship advise.

"He told me that he doubted my abilities as a mother." Meredith said. Alex looked at her with a bit of shock. He couldn't believe Derek would hurt her like that, but he figured it was probably out of anger. He went and sat next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Mer, you know that isn't true. You are a great mom. Nothing like your mother." He said, remembering a conversation like this one. She told him he was nothing like his dad and he told her she was nothing like her mom.

"But Alex, I didn't know she was teething!" Meredith cried.

"That is normal for new moms, Mer. Teething comes at different times for each baby. People read all those baby books, but in the end they still take them to the doctor to see what is wrong. Some mothers even bring the baby to the ER because they can't get them to stop crying or because of the fever, it scares them. I still get called for a consult because the mother doesn't want a regular doctor examining their child, they want a professional. Just like it did you." Alex explained, ending on a cocky tone. He watched as a smile came on her face and he smiled as she gave him a look. He continued.

"What happened tonight isn't like what your mom did to you. You were trying to help Zola. Just because you didn't know what was wrong or what to do doesn't make you a bad mom, it makes you a good mom because that means you care." He stated.

"Thanks Alex." She said, bumping his shoulder with hers.

"Any time, Mer. Just because you are mad at me and kicked me out doesn't mean I won't be there for you when you need it." Alex said and she gave him a smile and gave him a hug.

"Sorry for kicking you out. I was mad and still am a bit, but I was really just going on my emotions at the time." Meredith explained. He smirk.

"I know."

"You can come back." She said slowly.

"You know, that sounds nice. But, I think it's time to find my own place." He said.

"Really?" She asked, a bit shocked that he didn't pick up her offer.

"Yeah, let your sister take my room. I think it is about time she gets to come down and be part of the rest of the house." He said with a smile which was returned.

"Well then, you want your room for one last night?" Meredith asked, hopefulness lacing her tone.

"Mer, what's wrong?" He asked, seeing through her.

"It's that...well, I'm alone."

"Not totally." He said, pointing to the crib.

"I know, but it would be nice to have someone else around. Someone older than a few months." She said, biting her lip and looking at the floor. He wrapped his arm around her in a protective hold and gave a sigh.

"Mer, I'll stay. Don't worry. But only for tonight. My shift starts at one, I'll pack up at twelve." He agreed.

"Thanks."

"No prob." He said as he walked towards the door to get his things from the car.

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Thank you for reading! Please review! Constructive criticism is allowed, flames will be extinguished...


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